Russia has claimed that the Ukrainian military is preparing a “provocation” involving a radioactive device, but Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator has claimed that Russian forces are carrying out covert work at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. This activity may provide evidence to support Russia’s claims.
Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister of Russia, allegedly claimed that Ukraine was getting ready to detonate a “dirty bomb.”
Over the weekend, Shoigu made the accusation in calls to his US, British, French, and Turkish counterparts. It was categorically rejected as “transparently fake” by the US, the UK, and France.
Ukraine also rejected Moscow’s assertion, saying it was an effort to draw attention away from the Kremlin’s reported plans to use a dirty bomb, which disperses radioactive waste using explosives, to cause terror.
Energoatom, the Ukrainian state enterprise that operates the country’s four nuclear power plants, said Russian forces have carried out secret construction work over the last week at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
According to a statement from Energoatom, Russian security personnel guarding the region will not permit access to Ukrainian workers operating the plant or UN observers who would allow them to observe what the Russians are doing.
According to Energoatom, it is “assumed” that the Russians “are preparing a terrorist attack utilising nuclear materials and radioactive waste stored” inside the plant. The dry spent fuel storage facility at the plant, according to the report, has 174 containers with a total capacity of 24 assemblies of spent nuclear fuel.
“Destruction of these containers as a result of explosion will lead to a radiation accident and radiation contamination of several hundred square km of the adjacent territory,” the company said.
It requested an evaluation of the situation from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Russia asked the UN Security Council to establish a commission to investigate its claims that the US and Ukraine are violating the convention prohibiting the use of biological weapons at laboratories in Ukraine.
Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s UN ambassador, asserted that covert American labs in Ukraine were conducting biological warfare shortly after the US and Ukraine both refuted this assertion. This was in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The Kremlin has criticised Western nations for ignoring its warning on a rumoured Ukrainian plan to use a dirty bomb and urged that its warning should be taken seriously.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the dismissal of Moscow’s warning is “unacceptable in light of the gravity of the danger that we have discussed.”
Peskov continued, “We again emphasise the grave threat presented by the schemes concocted by the Ukrainians,” in a conference call with reporters.
At the White House, US President Joe Biden was asked today if Russia is preparing to deploy a tactical nuclear weapon after making its claims that Ukraine will use a dirty bomb.
Biden told reporters, “I spent a lot of time talking about that today.
The president was also questioned about if the allegations of a dirty bomb from Ukraine were a false-flag operation.
Let me just say, if Russia were to use a tactical nuclear bomb, it would be an extremely grave error, Biden added. “I’m not guaranteeing you that it’s a false-flag operation yet. . . but it would be a serious, serious mistake.
“Dirty bombs don’t have the catastrophic destruction of a nuclear explosion, but they may radioactively contaminate large areas.
Ukraine says, Russian dirty bomb deception at nuke plant
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